241–247 of 247 posts
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I'd imagine a society with 200 yr old people would be much wiser and sanely run.
Yes, that would be lovely, Kaiser Wilhem I would still sit on the throne of Prussia and Rutherford B Hayes would be seeking re-election.
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All we know is that the planet needs plastic... etc. All due respect to Mr Carlin, the guy was insightful and funny, but a solution he did not provide. He made a lot of money out of pointing out what was wrong with the setup, a solution to the shithole we're in was not part of his schtick. I love the man and will point people at his skit on 'save the whales' but nothing he's done or said changes shit. He would be the…
You say we're royally fucked, meanwhile the condition of human existence, or the standard of living at the median, has done nothing but drastically improve over the last 5,000 / 500 / 100 / 50 years. We're the exact opposite of royally fucked. We've been dealt the greatest hand imaginable. Improvements in the human condition are accelerating by the decade.
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I've found it helpful to share this with people: http://www.nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html
The article paints death in a very black and white, good-vs-evil picture, but I hold that it's a much more complex mechanism. And I don't mean to suggest that we should accept death or not pursue the escape of death, but most species (with some notable exceptions) who have enjoyed evolutionary success have death hardcoded into their genome. Which suggests to me that over a sufficient timescale (probably dozens to tho…
More over, human values are not the same as the objectives of evolution, nor should they be.
> but I hold the opinion that if we don't continuously pursue optimization cycles
We can undermine the optimization of evolution just fine, without ending death from aging--
I seem to recall that both of us wear corrective lenses, thus largely excluding the selective pressure for naturally better eyesight that we might otherwise be subjected to. :)
With that in mind, it's something of a false choice that you present: It's not like mankind is subject to the full force of evolutionary pressure with aging and completely free of it without.
Besides, I seem to recall the the rate for accidental death in adults suggests that we'd end up with a roughly 500 year life span even if we completely cured all aging related issues. A lot longer in human terms, but hardly anything for evolution.
Another perspective would be that the biggest threat to mankinds survival isn't anything evolution is well equip to protect us from-- us killing ourselves with phenomenal weapons and bad policy. Because our bad decisions could wipe our mankind worldwide evolution has no real chance to fabricate less problematic future humans. ... But perhaps humans acting in their own perpetually immortal interest might just behave a little more prudently.
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In all seriousness, the price for eternal youth will be the cost of production and shipping. If it turns out to be a compound for eternal youth, then it can be reverse engineered by labs in China or India (or anywhere). There is no sufficient patent, IP law, moral high ground about R&D expenses. The world will be supplied at the cost of production and shipping.
I am supposing that it will be incredibly expensive, something like $1 trillion/person or something along those lines. Hence, the 1,000 years of debt. A lot of people will take the deal anyway.
For example: Is it illegal to buy lab equipment? No. Is it illegal to make medical compounds in your home? No. Is it illegal to violate patent or copyright law with zero intent to distribute and monetize? No.
For a couple 10s or 100s of millions of dollars I could buy the infrastructure to build the compound in my garage. Depending on the legality, potentially use it to feed friends and family as gifts. Sell the infrastructure.
All of a sudden the compound's cost is determined by your ability to buy and sell on craigslist.
Meanwhile, why go through all the trouble? Just go on Yelp, find a reputable seller in Brazil, China, or India (somewhere it is not illegal to buy). Spend $5000 on a vacation, and another couple thousand on the compound. At most (for the poorest people) its a couple years (10 maybe) of debt.
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I'd imagine a society with 200 yr old people would be much wiser and sanely run.
Perhaps. There might be a lot more cynicism and conservatism. Our legislators might not have adjusted to the implications of telephone and tv, let alone apps and online privacy. Oh, I see. You mean we should be able to run on to 200 don't you? ;)
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I'd imagine a society with 200 yr old people would be much wiser and sanely run.
Yes, that would be lovely, Kaiser Wilhem I would still sit on the throne of Prussia and Rutherford B Hayes would be seeking re-election.